Interview: Insurance carriers can pay claims virtually Special

Snapsheet, a leading provider of claims technology, has partnered with KeyBank, to launch Snapsheet Transactions, a payment solution for insurance claims. To learn more about the platform we spoke with Alex Meisner, director of innovation at Snapsheet.

The partnership sets out to transform the way insurance carriers send payments to claimants. An important objective is to simplify claims, while maintaining an optimal customer experience and a seamless payments solution.

Digital Journal: What are some of the major challenges facing the insurance sector today?

Alex Meisner: The insurance industry is facing mass disruption. However, unlike a lot of InsurTechs that are out there today, Snapsheet’s goal isn’t to disrupt the industry, but to help the industry innovate and make their current processes more nimble, efficient, and customer-friendly.

DJ: Why is so much paper documentation still used by the insurance sector?

Meisner: Paper documentation is a byproduct of the insurance industry relying heavily on legacy technology and manual processes. Until recently, the majority of back-end technology couldn’t support innovation in the form of automation, let alone digital payments. However, we’re rapidly seeing carriers undergo digital transformation, opening up the industry to new technology, which in turn paves the way for InsurTech companies to support these organizational goals.

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DJ: Please explain what Snapsheet is and how it works.

Meisner: Snapsheet is the leading provider of virtual claims technology used by auto insurance carriers to optimize workflows, speed up claims processes and provide superior service to their customers. Our cloud-based software enables carriers to virtually process a claim with photos taken by the user via their smartphone.

Through a multitude of technologies housed on our platform, we’re able to help insurance providers process claims quicker, allowing customers to be paid faster and back in safe, repaired vehicles sooner.

DJ: What’s different about Snapsheet Transactions?

Meisner: Most carriers are cutting physical checks for claims payments, but checks are slow. If a user is submitting an auto claim, chances are high that they’re depending on that payment in order to get back on the road.

Recent events, like Hurricane Harvey and Irma, have made this more apparent. In these cases, people may not have a current address to send the check and need the payment in order to recover and get back to normal as quickly as possible, this technology changes that.

DJ: What are the key benefits of Snapsheet?

Meisner: Using Snapsheet, carriers can process 90 percent of all claims by photograph, and automate 70 percent of all customer communications.

The self-service nature of Snapsheet's model, in combination with the scalability of its platform, makes it easy to service a range of carriers, from small insurance companies that process a low volume of claims, all the way to the industry’s biggest players. Snapsheet processes more than 400,000 claims a year, and is built to manage millions. Our versatility and ability to help insurance carriers of all sizes are a major differentiator against other solutions.

DJ: What types of insurance areas is Snapsheet applicable to?

Meisner: Snapsheet is the industry leading provider of virtual claims technology to personal and commercial auto insurers. In addition to insurance, we also have technology solutions for rental car companies, ride-sharing companies, and third party administrators. Snapsheet Transactions is a solution suitable for all lines of insurance, not just auto.

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DJ: What has been the response to Snapsheet from the industry?

Meisner: The response from the industry has been fantastic. Thanks to our partnerships with carriers, we’re on track to process almost 450,000 claims this year.

To date, Snapsheet has raised over 40 million dollars, including strategic investments from four insurance carriers.

DJ: How have consumers responded to Snapsheet?

Meisner: We’ve seen more customers using their carrier’s apps more than ever. Nearly 75 percent of adults own a smartphone with apps accounting for 89 percent of mobile usage. Consumers are using apps for everything from ordering food to hiring a contractor, so it’s become logical for customers who need to process a claim to reach for the phone first, and we want to make it easy for them to do that.

DJ: What was the main challenge with the development of Snapsheet?

Meisner: Snapsheet originally started as BodyShopBids, an app that provided estimates and auto shop contacts to users who sent in photos of a damaged vehicle. However, we quickly realized that customers were using our service to determine if they should file a claim with their insurance carrier, thus we decided to pivot our business and address the needs of insurance carriers and their customers.

DJ: What other types of technology interest you?

Meisner: IoT and blockchain technologies are very exciting as they have the potential to change the way carriers assess risk and process claims. These technologies and their use cases are still in their infancy and the industry is excited to see where they take us.

Chicago based Snapsheet is a provider of virtual claims technology to personal and commercial auto insurance carriers. The company services major auto insurance carriers through Snapsheet’s Virtual Insurance Claims Exchange platform, with the aim of improving the estimation process for auto repairs from virtual photo submission to final repairs and payment.